Read the Book MI in the Elementary Classroom. Pick two activities from the back of the chapters. Implement two of these ideas into your class. Write a report of 250 (+-) words describing your activity. Be sure to tell me. a. The age of the students and grade level b. The Subject you teach c. How you implemented the activity d. How the children responded e. Will you do this again? f. What will you do differently.
Activity 1:
a. Review for Spanish Exam - Spanish as a first Language.
b. 9th grade students between 15-16 years of age (13 students).
c. Due to the fact that we were reviewing for the final exams - there was no opportunity to introduce new material. However, it was a perfect opportunity to gain information on students and be able to identify their strengths and interests using MI theory as a tool. This was an opportunity to discover "the context in which students are most engaged, enjoy themselves and learning, and are at their personal best." (Baum et al., p.43). The Exploration Pathway was chosen as the method to: gather and document evidence of students' strengths and to observe them formally and informally to see which intelligences they favor and which domains they are interested in.
Following the Goruping Strategies Planning Matrix (Baum, 2004), Jigsaw strategy was chosen since we had 4 units that were to be assessed on the final exam for the semester. Students were asked to group themselves according to the unit they most enjoyed during the semester; to become experts in that topic and to present the material to the class in the form of a review unit. Students enthusiastically raised their hands, chose their groups and went to work in their selected team. They were also given complete freedom as to how to present the material to their fellow students. They could create games, worksheets, exercises, etc. in order to deliver the information. All teams were asked: How would you learn this information best? This exercise also allowed me to observe students following Krechevsky & Seidel's list of things to look for during Exploratory Path Activties (p.47). I took notes on: choices students made when given options, different ways they communicate ideas, understandings, thoughts, how they interact with each other, and when they are interested in the process or conversely, when they loose interest in an activity or process.
I also had students surveys (which are part of our Teacher Evaluation System that are administered at the end of the semester) that needed to be completed by students during these review periods. I took advantage of this and in the notes part I asked students to write down what topics they had enjoyed most and I also asked them to write down how they learned best. This gave me more information and in many cases confirmed my observations of what I had seen while they were working in their groups. Stuents included some of the following comments on the surveys: "I learn best when I work in groups" or "I learn best when we take notes". This also provided valuable information as far as their learning styles were concerned. This, together with what I had observed in terms of the range of MI that manifested themselves during the process of assembling the review units for presentation, gave me a more complete picture of my students' strengths.
d. Students responded enthusiastically. They enjoyed re-learning and teaching the material to their classmates and each group negociated a unique way of doing it. From their different strengths, students were able to sequence the presentation of the review and each did so in a way that addressed how they processed and retained information best. For example, the group assigned to the History of the Spanish Language, drew pictures that signified certain episodes or information that was important in terms of the events that formed the Spanish language, together with dates and word cues. The group that reviewed Etimology did so with graphic organizers to ilustrate how words are formed and created a color coded chart in which students had to identify by which process certain words had been formed (and chose the correct color for the process of formation of the words). In most of the groups, the ability to use interpersonal skills was manifest when one team member would take it upon themselves to explain a certain concept to a classmate did not understand - they would take the student aside, explain the concept and then, when they were satisfied they had understood, had them rejoin the class. This happened in 3 out of the four groups. Thus, it was no surprise when "I learn better when working in groups" showed up on 1/3 of the surveys and gave a clue that students favored and used their Interpersonal Intelligence and were comfortable using it as part of the learning process. Two groups also performed short skits associated with The History of the Spanish Language (the Invasion of the Moors in 711 a.C. and the retreat of the Visigods and the Basques to the North) of Spain); and scenes from the novel "Siddhartha" which was also on the exam. All students were engaged and attentive during the review sessions. They felt at the end of the 2 days that they were very well prepared for the exam and the grades on the exam reflected they had learned the material and were able to apply the material to questions which called for analysis and synthesis of the information gained.
e & f. I will definitely do this again - it gave me valuable information on which intelligences students favor, what their interests are and how they interact in groups. Perhaps, the only thing I would do differently is use this method also to pre-assess students before units - giving them 3 significant concepts and see where it takes them. The information gained hereI would allow me to use the results to further differentiate the lesson through some of the other Pathways offered in the book.
Activity 2:
a. DP- A2 Spanish - 11 th grade - Spanish Literature
b. Bilingual speakers of Spanish (17 -18 years of age) at different levels of competency (22 students).
c. Comprehension of a story by Peruvian author Julio Ramon Ribeyro "Los gallinazos sin plumas" ("Featherless Buzzards").
After reading the first four chapters in the book and understanding that MI is a tool for educators to use to tap into students' unique way of processing information, the next step was to choose a pathway in which to provide "entry points" for students to find the material accessible from a position of strength. Thus, the pathways listed in the book became the primary building block to create activities that would be in alignment of the curriculum and learning outcomes and use MI as a tool to maximize those outcomes for all students involved.
For this particular exercise, I chose the Bridging Pathway. My goal was to work on oral presentation skills with analysis of this text, but I wanted to try it through this pathway to see if the results would be better in terms of improving their oral performance in length and content. Assembling a good oral commentary is important since 30% of their grade on the DP exam is based on their performance in this task. Moreover, in Literature, we relay heavily on reading comprehension, explanation or writing as beginning or end tasks. This poses a unique problem for students who have strengths in other intelligences and not in the linguistic intelligence area (Baum, et al., p.59). Thus, I wanted to explore the idea of students processing the information from their strengths to see if I could get all students to improve in their ability to construct an oral commentary.
I had asked students to read the story the night before class. When they got to class, I presented them with 7 excerpts (in chronological order) of the story that were key moments and that lent themselves to be able to analyze the story in depth. After short formative exercises (vocabulary, reading comprehension - multiple choice responses, short answers), I told students I would divide them into teams based on their strengths. This was a modification of the Novice/Expert Activity by Baum (p.30). I offered the following groups: Drawing, Writing, Building, Acting/Performing Arts. I asked students to divide themselves into groups according to how they would like to represent the 7 passages given as part of the short formative exercise we had just gone over within their choice. Interestingly enough, I had no takers for the Building, but I had many students in Drawing and Acting. The Drawing group was divided into two groups (there were 10 students); the Acting/Performing Arts wanted to work as a group (7 students). The rest were writers who chose to work mostly alone (4 students). The students were then directed to collaborate in using the 7 excerpts from the story to retell and analyze the story.
Drawing students were directed to collaborate to form a story board with the 7 excerpts - they could work in groups or individually - but all 7 needed to be produced. The Acting/ Performing Arts group decided to do a Newscast with interviews, live reporting from the scene of the crime, testimonials, etc. The writers produced texts that included a newspaper editorial, diary entries and letters from the characters of the story.
Students were then asked to share their products with the rest of the class.
d. Students were TOO enthusiastic! The minute they were told to start they all disappeared and got to work, and worked through the 2 periods with almost no off task behavior. The products presented were of high quality and all students were able to use their products to articulate their interpretation and analysis of the story. The group that did particularly well in the analysis was the Acting group through their newscast and analysis of the events. The writers were also able to give a good analysis through the characters' points of view and the editorial. While the Drawing Group was able to demonstrate understanding of the facts and could interpret the material to a certain extent, they were unable to reach higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. However, it was interesting to note, since probably this would be the group that would need the most scaffolding support in the future compared to the other groups who were working independently and progressing to the higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy on their own.
e & f. I would try this again, and give it more time. Unfortunately, due to the fact that we were scheduled for review, time was limited. But, what was clear was that in teaching Literature, because it relays heavily on students linguistic intelligence, it is even more important to be able to differentiate instruction so students can demonstrate their understanding in other ways that will help them bridge into the writing activities (obligatory in literature!), but with confidence in their understanding and analysis. Because writing weighs heavily here, other opportunities, especially in the formative area, need to be given to students to be able to then produce writing of higher quality. Next time, after all students have presented, I will give students an writing assignment relevant to the 7 excerpts chosen.
Assignment #6
Post a copy of your Think Tac Toe using a 3 X 3 table that is color coded. Black for Basic, Blue for mid range, Red for higher level thinking. Be sure to use Bloom’s Taxonomy to develop your TTT..
MYP Unidad – Género Épico Lectura: Naves Negras Contra Troya (The story of the Iliad).
Think Tac Toe Board
Juicio de Paris en el Olimpo – 3 dioses deben decidir (desde sus puntos de vista) si Paris estaba justificado o no en raptar a Elena y decidir si están de parte de Grecia o de Troya.
Crear un juego con los dioses griegos para aprender sus biografías y poderes.
Dar un discurso desde el punto de vista de Aquiles describiendo la guerra y por qué es justa la causa de los griegos. También lo puedes hacer desde el punto de vista de Héctor y por qué es justa la causa de los troyanos.
Escoge un héroe de la época moderna (deportes, arte, política, escritor/a) y como los dioses del Olimpo lo han favorecido con sus poderes para ayudarlo/a a tener éxito.
Escribe el diario de Elena de Troya durante la guerra y desde su punto de vista y el de las mujeres de Troya.
Decide si eres troyano o griego. Diseña el Partenón o crea afiches para cada uno de los dioses involucrados en la guerra de Troya. Escribe plegarias para cada dios alabando sus poderes y por qué deberían favorecer a los griegos o a los troyanos.
Eres un reportero en la guerra contra Troya. Escribe un artículo en el periódico sobre la guerra y quiénes estaban involucrados y como sucedieron los eventos. Puedes también hacer un documental, o un storyboard.
¡El caballo se quemó! Tienes ahora que idear otra forma para tomar Troya. Crea un ardid con mapas y diagramas de cómo asaltarías y tomarías por sorpresa la ciudad de Troya para presentar a Menelao en un consejo de guerra.
Haz un comic sobre 4 episodios de Naves Negras contra Troya con lo que están pensando las personas diálogos/directo/mónologo interior.
Assignment #5
Describe an evolutionary reason why there might be an advantage to any of the special needs populations that we discussed in class.
If we are a highly social species and our success has been attributed to being able to work cooperatively for survival, then it makes sense that there would be different personality types that would serve different functions in the society to ensure their survival. However, these personality types would only have been able to work well in a society that was by nature nomadic. For example, a member of the community that had ADHD traits would have served well in a community in the wild: being impulsive might mean bravery and being a risk taker in many situations; being distracted (or being attracted by everything) might signal a new danger or an opportunity for the group. The inability to follow instructions could also signal that the individual would have to work out a new way of doing things and thus, perhaps be creative or innovate. The lack of impulse control might have been useful in settling disputes or in making quick decisions that might have been needed in order to survive.
Autistic children also have characteristics that would have served the community well as man evolved in a nomadic society: The over sensitivity to certain smells and odors, the sensitivity to the environment around them and the fact that they can register any change immediately would alert others, even perhaps to climate changes. They also have the ability to be "savant" in an area such as number counting, memorization, spelling, etc. This could have been useful to record important information for the group or tribe - especially if writing or no physical form of accounting for information was available. Unfortunately, these traits would not do well in an urban/sedentary environment. The overstimulation of the modern world with images, sounds, smells, etc. might make an autistic child over stimulated which may account for the fact that many of them choose to “shut down”. And, for someone with ADHD sitting in classroom for an hour straight is something that is extremely difficult to do if they have been programmed to wander and pay attention to everything.
Assignment #4 - Learning Matrix Activity
My group and I worked on the needs of Gifted and Talented Students.
Anne, Rocío, Cynthia, Maria Angela
Gifted and talented
Gifted students are not being serviced. Students who often have a higher than average IQs, often have high performance, good problem solving, are able to think critically, often widely read, abstract thinkers, often energetic, highly inquisitive, and sometimes have an “I’d rather do it myself”. Intellectual giftedness may be general or specific.
Learning challenges that many gifted children may face are boredom, stigmatization, becoming social outcasts, difficulty taking criticism, and collaborating with others.
Differentiation and independent project. Find out what they are passionate about and tap into that. Some parents ask in discussion pages if gifted or talented children should skip a grade, it is very controversial and does not fit easily into constraints of the typical school system. There is also the suggestion that school should rethink the way grades are formed.
Assignment # 3 - Cartoon Assignment
Rocio and Cynthia - Safety in the Science Lab
Assignment #2 - Comment on your recent learning in our class about multiple intelligence theory or learning styles.
Just as important as what differentiation is, is what it is not: It is not teaching to the “average ability” of students and requiring that all students know the same thing at the same time; nor is it asking students who finish first – because the probably have mastered the material – to tutor other students or give them more work that is really meaningless to them (even if it might be related to the topic).
What I found out differentiation was is this: It is about the fact that many students come into our classrooms with different degrees of readiness and that we need to make them progress, but on their own continuum – in other words “one size does not fit all” in terms of planning and delivering instruction. In order to do this, it is essential for teachers to get to know their students, to know themselves and know their curriculum well. The better knowledge the teacher has of these 3 elements, the more opportunities for differentiation will naturally arise.
Pre-assessment is one of the key elements of being able to start differentiation off and see where every student is in terms of what knowledge they already bring to the classroom. Just as important is to determine what students’ learning styles are and what their interests area. Ideally, at some point in time (through different lessons) the different learning styles present in the class be addressed, but also only 2-3 (maximum 4) at a time. Accounting for the different learning styles and asking students to work from their strengths, will produce the best results in terms of retaining and processing information for students. What this means that all children CAN learn, we just need to find out how they learn best through MI and LS. And, students also need to know how they learn best so they can succeed in school – especially as they move into higher grade levels and college where differentiation is seen less than in elementary school. So, we must also teach students strategies as to how to learn from their strengths.
One of the ways to differentiate is to use flexible grouping activities based on different criteria. Grouping will also vary according to what the activity is that the teacher is interested in developing or student interests such as the one we were assigned for Medieval Times: Writing, Building, Artist, and Actor. The second time when doing research on MI & LS, we were asked to choose what we might be interested in learning about, so here we were grouped by interest. The idea is that students are given opportunities to be valued in the classroom and demonstrate their learning from a position of strength while collaborating with others who have the same strengths or as part of a group in which all students have different talents that pooled together can produce something that they can be proud of.
Assignment #1 - Business Card Activity
My name is Cynthia Sturner. I teach HS Spanish: MYP –A 9th grade; MYP –B Standard I (9th & 10th grade); DP –A2 – Spanish 11th grade; DP- Ab Initio Spanish 12th grade.
I was born in Manhattan, N.Y. and I was raised in Lima, Peru. I have an undergraduate degree in Environmental Biology and a M.A. in Spanish Language and Literature from SUNY (but from Stony Brook). I used to be a classical ballet dancer and teacher and 15 years ago at this time I would be rehearsing for “The Nutcracker”!a.
Assignment # 7
Read the Book MI in the Elementary Classroom. Pick two activities from the back of the chapters. Implement two of these ideas into your class. Write a report of 250 (+-) words describing your activity. Be sure to tell me.
a. The age of the students and grade level
b. The Subject you teach
c. How you implemented the activity
d. How the children responded
e. Will you do this again?
f. What will you do differently.
Activity 1:
a. Review for Spanish Exam - Spanish as a first Language.
b. 9th grade students between 15-16 years of age (13 students).
c. Due to the fact that we were reviewing for the final exams - there was no opportunity to introduce new material. However, it was a perfect opportunity to gain information on students and be able to identify their strengths and interests using MI theory as a tool. This was an opportunity to discover "the context in which students are most engaged, enjoy themselves and learning, and are at their personal best." (Baum et al., p.43). The Exploration Pathway was chosen as the method to: gather and document evidence of students' strengths and to observe them formally and informally to see which intelligences they favor and which domains they are interested in.
Following the Goruping Strategies Planning Matrix (Baum, 2004), Jigsaw strategy was chosen since we had 4 units that were to be assessed on the final exam for the semester. Students were asked to group themselves according to the unit they most enjoyed during the semester; to become experts in that topic and to present the material to the class in the form of a review unit. Students enthusiastically raised their hands, chose their groups and went to work in their selected team. They were also given complete freedom as to how to present the material to their fellow students. They could create games, worksheets, exercises, etc. in order to deliver the information. All teams were asked: How would you learn this information best? This exercise also allowed me to observe students following Krechevsky & Seidel's list of things to look for during Exploratory Path Activties (p.47). I took notes on: choices students made when given options, different ways they communicate ideas, understandings, thoughts, how they interact with each other, and when they are interested in the process or conversely, when they loose interest in an activity or process.
I also had students surveys (which are part of our Teacher Evaluation System that are administered at the end of the semester) that needed to be completed by students during these review periods. I took advantage of this and in the notes part I asked students to write down what topics they had enjoyed most and I also asked them to write down how they learned best. This gave me more information and in many cases confirmed my observations of what I had seen while they were working in their groups. Stuents included some of the following comments on the surveys: "I learn best when I work in groups" or "I learn best when we take notes". This also provided valuable information as far as their learning styles were concerned. This, together with what I had observed in terms of the range of MI that manifested themselves during the process of assembling the review units for presentation, gave me a more complete picture of my students' strengths.
d. Students responded enthusiastically. They enjoyed re-learning and teaching the material to their classmates and each group negociated a unique way of doing it. From their different strengths, students were able to sequence the presentation of the review and each did so in a way that addressed how they processed and retained information best. For example, the group assigned to the History of the Spanish Language, drew pictures that signified certain episodes or information that was important in terms of the events that formed the Spanish language, together with dates and word cues. The group that reviewed Etimology did so with graphic organizers to ilustrate how words are formed and created a color coded chart in which students had to identify by which process certain words had been formed (and chose the correct color for the process of formation of the words). In most of the groups, the ability to use interpersonal skills was manifest when one team member would take it upon themselves to explain a certain concept to a classmate did not understand - they would take the student aside, explain the concept and then, when they were satisfied they had understood, had them rejoin the class. This happened in 3 out of the four groups. Thus, it was no surprise when "I learn better when working in groups" showed up on 1/3 of the surveys and gave a clue that students favored and used their Interpersonal Intelligence and were comfortable using it as part of the learning process. Two groups also performed short skits associated with The History of the Spanish Language (the Invasion of the Moors in 711 a.C. and the retreat of the Visigods and the Basques to the North) of Spain); and scenes from the novel "Siddhartha" which was also on the exam. All students were engaged and attentive during the review sessions. They felt at the end of the 2 days that they were very well prepared for the exam and the grades on the exam reflected they had learned the material and were able to apply the material to questions which called for analysis and synthesis of the information gained.
e & f. I will definitely do this again - it gave me valuable information on which intelligences students favor, what their interests are and how they interact in groups. Perhaps, the only thing I would do differently is use this method also to pre-assess students before units - giving them 3 significant concepts and see where it takes them. The information gained hereI would allow me to use the results to further differentiate the lesson through some of the other Pathways offered in the book.
Activity 2:
a. DP- A2 Spanish - 11 th grade - Spanish Literature
b. Bilingual speakers of Spanish (17 -18 years of age) at different levels of competency (22 students).
c. Comprehension of a story by Peruvian author Julio Ramon Ribeyro "Los gallinazos sin plumas" ("Featherless Buzzards").
After reading the first four chapters in the book and understanding that MI is a tool for educators to use to tap into students' unique way of processing information, the next step was to choose a pathway in which to provide "entry points" for students to find the material accessible from a position of strength. Thus, the pathways listed in the book became the primary building block to create activities that would be in alignment of the curriculum and learning outcomes and use MI as a tool to maximize those outcomes for all students involved.
For this particular exercise, I chose the Bridging Pathway. My goal was to work on oral presentation skills with analysis of this text, but I wanted to try it through this pathway to see if the results would be better in terms of improving their oral performance in length and content. Assembling a good oral commentary is important since 30% of their grade on the DP exam is based on their performance in this task. Moreover, in Literature, we relay heavily on reading comprehension, explanation or writing as beginning or end tasks. This poses a unique problem for students who have strengths in other intelligences and not in the linguistic intelligence area (Baum, et al., p.59). Thus, I wanted to explore the idea of students processing the information from their strengths to see if I could get all students to improve in their ability to construct an oral commentary.
I had asked students to read the story the night before class. When they got to class, I presented them with 7 excerpts (in chronological order) of the story that were key moments and that lent themselves to be able to analyze the story in depth. After short formative exercises (vocabulary, reading comprehension - multiple choice responses, short answers), I told students I would divide them into teams based on their strengths. This was a modification of the Novice/Expert Activity by Baum (p.30). I offered the following groups: Drawing, Writing, Building, Acting/Performing Arts. I asked students to divide themselves into groups according to how they would like to represent the 7 passages given as part of the short formative exercise we had just gone over within their choice. Interestingly enough, I had no takers for the Building, but I had many students in Drawing and Acting. The Drawing group was divided into two groups (there were 10 students); the Acting/Performing Arts wanted to work as a group (7 students). The rest were writers who chose to work mostly alone (4 students). The students were then directed to collaborate in using the 7 excerpts from the story to retell and analyze the story.
Drawing students were directed to collaborate to form a story board with the 7 excerpts - they could work in groups or individually - but all 7 needed to be produced. The Acting/ Performing Arts group decided to do a Newscast with interviews, live reporting from the scene of the crime, testimonials, etc. The writers produced texts that included a newspaper editorial, diary entries and letters from the characters of the story.
Students were then asked to share their products with the rest of the class.
d. Students were TOO enthusiastic! The minute they were told to start they all disappeared and got to work, and worked through the 2 periods with almost no off task behavior. The products presented were of high quality and all students were able to use their products to articulate their interpretation and analysis of the story. The group that did particularly well in the analysis was the Acting group through their newscast and analysis of the events. The writers were also able to give a good analysis through the characters' points of view and the editorial. While the Drawing Group was able to demonstrate understanding of the facts and could interpret the material to a certain extent, they were unable to reach higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. However, it was interesting to note, since probably this would be the group that would need the most scaffolding support in the future compared to the other groups who were working independently and progressing to the higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy on their own.
e & f. I would try this again, and give it more time. Unfortunately, due to the fact that we were scheduled for review, time was limited. But, what was clear was that in teaching Literature, because it relays heavily on students linguistic intelligence, it is even more important to be able to differentiate instruction so students can demonstrate their understanding in other ways that will help them bridge into the writing activities (obligatory in literature!), but with confidence in their understanding and analysis. Because writing weighs heavily here, other opportunities, especially in the formative area, need to be given to students to be able to then produce writing of higher quality. Next time, after all students have presented, I will give students an writing assignment relevant to the 7 excerpts chosen.
Assignment #6
Post a copy of your Think Tac Toe using a 3 X 3 table that is color coded. Black for Basic, Blue for mid range, Red for higher level thinking. Be sure to use Bloom’s Taxonomy to develop your TTT..
MYP Unidad – Género Épico
Lectura: Naves Negras Contra Troya (The story of the Iliad).
También lo puedes hacer desde el punto de vista de Héctor y por qué es justa la causa de los troyanos.
Assignment #5
Describe an evolutionary reason why there might be an advantage to any of the special needs populations that we discussed in class.
If we are a highly social species and our success has been attributed to being able to work cooperatively for survival, then it makes sense that there would be different personality types that would serve different functions in the society to ensure their survival. However, these personality types would only have been able to work well in a society that was by nature nomadic.For example, a member of the community that had ADHD traits would have served well in a community in the wild: being impulsive might mean bravery and being a risk taker in many situations; being distracted (or being attracted by everything) might signal a new danger or an opportunity for the group. The inability to follow instructions could also signal that the individual would have to work out a new way of doing things and thus, perhaps be creative or innovate. The lack of impulse control might have been useful in settling disputes or in making quick decisions that might have been needed in order to survive.
Autistic children also have characteristics that would have served the community well as man evolved in a nomadic society: The over sensitivity to certain smells and odors, the sensitivity to the environment around them and the fact that they can register any change immediately would alert others, even perhaps to climate changes. They also have the ability to be "savant" in an area such as number counting, memorization, spelling, etc. This could have been useful to record important information for the group or tribe - especially if writing or no physical form of accounting for information was available.
Unfortunately, these traits would not do well in an urban/sedentary environment. The overstimulation of the modern world with images, sounds, smells, etc. might make an autistic child over stimulated which may account for the fact that many of them choose to “shut down”. And, for someone with ADHD sitting in classroom for an hour straight is something that is extremely difficult to do if they have been programmed to wander and pay attention to everything.
Assignment #4 - Learning Matrix Activity
My group and I worked on the needs of Gifted and Talented Students.Assignment # 3 - Cartoon Assignment
Rocio and Cynthia - Safety in the Science LabAssignment #2 - Comment on your recent learning in our class about multiple intelligence theory or learning styles.
Just as important as what differentiation is, is what it is not: It is not teaching to the “average ability” of students and requiring that all students know the same thing at the same time; nor is it asking students who finish first – because the probably have mastered the material – to tutor other students or give them more work that is really meaningless to them (even if it might be related to the topic).
What I found out differentiation was is this: It is about the fact that many students come into our classrooms with different degrees of readiness and that we need to make them progress, but on their own continuum – in other words “one size does not fit all” in terms of planning and delivering instruction. In order to do this, it is essential for teachers to get to know their students, to know themselves and know their curriculum well. The better knowledge the teacher has of these 3 elements, the more opportunities for differentiation will naturally arise.
Pre-assessment is one of the key elements of being able to start differentiation off and see where every student is in terms of what knowledge they already bring to the classroom. Just as important is to determine what students’ learning styles are and what their interests area. Ideally, at some point in time (through different lessons) the different learning styles present in the class be addressed, but also only 2-3 (maximum 4) at a time. Accounting for the different learning styles and asking students to work from their strengths, will produce the best results in terms of retaining and processing information for students. What this means that all children CAN learn, we just need to find out how they learn best through MI and LS. And, students also need to know how they learn best so they can succeed in school – especially as they move into higher grade levels and college where differentiation is seen less than in elementary school. So, we must also teach students strategies as to how to learn from their strengths.
One of the ways to differentiate is to use flexible grouping activities based on different criteria. Grouping will also vary according to what the activity is that the teacher is interested in developing or student interests such as the one we were assigned for Medieval Times: Writing, Building, Artist, and Actor. The second time when doing research on MI & LS, we were asked to choose what we might be interested in learning about, so here we were grouped by interest. The idea is that students are given opportunities to be valued in the classroom and demonstrate their learning from a position of strength while collaborating with others who have the same strengths or as part of a group in which all students have different talents that pooled together can produce something that they can be proud of.
Assignment #1 - Business Card Activity
My name is Cynthia Sturner. I teach HS Spanish: MYP –A 9th grade; MYP –B Standard I (9th & 10th grade); DP –A2 – Spanish 11th grade; DP- Ab Initio Spanish 12th grade.I was born in Manhattan, N.Y. and I was raised in Lima, Peru. I have an undergraduate degree in Environmental Biology and a M.A. in Spanish Language and Literature from SUNY (but from Stony Brook). I used to be a classical ballet dancer and teacher and 15 years ago at this time I would be rehearsing for “The Nutcracker”!a.